Well, it seems like Sony vs. George Hotz has ended pretty much without a bang. Sony announced on its Playstation blog that the two parties have settled the case. Under the settlement, Hotz agrees to a permanent injunction fo his jailbreaking hack, but admits to no wrong-doing. A wise and, dare I say it, mature end to the lawsuit.

Indirectly, you can. If something is proved in a civil case, it can be used in a criminal prosecution later, which might not otherwise be brought for lack of evidence

A case in point, Oscar Wilde sued the Marquess of Queensbury for Libel as Queensbury had described Wilde as a sodomite. When Queensbury won the case by proving Wilde was a sodomite, Wilde was immediately arrested for the then crime of sodomy and after being convicted served 2 years hard labour.